This invention relates to a door structure for a vehicle.
In Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 61-171620, there is disclosed a conventional door structure comprising a door body including an inner panel arranged on the interior side of the vehicle and an outer panel arranged on the outside of the inner panel. In the door structure, a waist opening through which a window panel rises and falls, is formed between the inner panel and the outer panel and formed in an upper part of the door body. In the door body, an inner reinforcement and an outer reinforcement are secured to the inner panel and the outer panel, respectively, to ensure the rigidity of the waist opening. Each of the reinforcements has an uneven cross section continuously extending along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, each of the reinforcements exhibits substantially constant rigidity from its front end through its rear end, along the longitudinal direction.
In addition, the door construction comprises a pad, which is made of foamy synthetic material, and which is arranged in a position corresponding to a passenger's position in the side view of the door body. This pad serves to absorb a shock applied on the passenger when external force is exerted on the door body by a traffic accident, etc., so that it is deformed to the interior side of the vehicle.
In the conventional door structure as mentioned above, since the passenger is protected by the pad arranged in the position corresponding to the passenger's position, the thickness of the pad must be increased in order to progress the capability of protecting the passenger from the door body deformed. However, the more the thickness of the pad is increased to increase the protecting capability, the more the interior volume of the vehicle is decreased. Therefore, in the conventional door structure, there remains the limitation of increasing the thickness of the pad.